Five Jessamine CASA volunteers honored with Serve Kentucky Awards

Five CASA volunteers were honored at the Jessamine County Fiscal Court meeting Tuesday for giving hundreds of hours to help abused and neglected children. 

Megan Huston, Maquel Sarantakos, Charlene Floyd, Susan Pope and Erin Hall were recognized for volunteering more than 100 hours each during 2025 as CASA volunteers. The five earned Serve Kentucky awards signed by Gov. Andy Beshear. They also received certificates of appreciation from Jessamine Fiscal Court and the City of Wilmore. 

Nicholasville Mayor Alex Carter joined Judge-Executive David West and CASA program Executive Director Melynda Jamison to present the awards and certificates. 

Judge West commended the advocates for their combined 690 hours given to help abused and neglected children last year. 

“The impact that they have made to the lives of these children and their families is most admirable,” he said. 

The Serve Kentucky Volunteer Recognition Program is a partnership among the Office of the Governor, AmeriCorps, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It recognizes volunteers who make a difference by giving their time within the state of Kentucky. 

CASA volunteers are matched with children in the family court system who have been abused or neglected. Each volunteer visits their CASA child at least monthly, gathers information about the child’s life, provides reports to the judge on the child’s case, and speaks up if the child needs something they aren’t getting. 

Last year, 23 CASA volunteers in Jessamine County advocated for 52 abused and neglected Jessamine County children. Jamison said that means only about 8 percent of Jessamine kids with open abuse and neglect cases have a CASA volunteer. 

“Unfortunately, there were 368 new children who entered the court system with substantiated cases of abuse and neglect. That’s up 100 kids from 2024,” Jamison said. 

But CASA is working to change the outcomes for Jessamine children and ultimately bring that number down, she added. 

“I see a lot of people who are committed to making Jessamine County, Nicholasville and Wilmore the strongest communities they can be,” Jamison said. “We are always recruiting new volunteers. If you have a heart for children, we would love to tell you more about how you can make a difference through this program.” 

It takes about 5 to 10 hours a month to serve as a CASA volunteer. If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, supporting the Jessamine County CASA program or learning more about what CASA volunteers do, visit www.casaoflexington.org.